Tag Archives: "Paint"

How to pick the right paint colour for your room

I get asked this all the time and it seems to be the one thing that most people struggle with. How do I pick the right paint colour for my room.

This is quite a hard one to explain as without standing in the room you are decorating, accessing the size of the room, how dark or light it is, what natural light comes through (which all have a huge impact on how a colour looks) its hard to generalise it. But you have asked, so I am going to provide….

Back to basics

This might fry your brain a little bit and confuse you even more, but lets go back to the good old fashioned colour wheel.

This is the basic colour wheel and it will guide you in making colour choices. Red, blue and yellow are primary colors. When you mix red and yellow, you get orange; mix blue and yellow, you get green; mix red and blue, you get violet. Orange, green and violet are called secondary colours.

Tertiary colours like red-violet and blue-violet are derived by mixing a primary colour with a secondary colour. All colours have tints and shades. A tint is the variation of that colour when mixed with white; a shade is the variation of that colour when mixed with black.

The harmonious color combinations are called colour schemes . Colour schemes remain harmonious regardless of the rotation angle. In the colour wheel, there’s yet another separation that you need to be aware of so that you can understand colour schemes better: warm and cool colours. Each has its own purpose to convey emotions. Warm colours exhibit energy and joy whilst cool colours convey calmness and peace.

Based on the wheel, there are a few basic rules to match colours

Complementary colours are any two colours opposite each other on the wheel. For example, blue and orange, or red and green. These create a high contrast, so use them when you want something to stand out. Ideally, use one colour as background and the other as accents.

Split complementary colours use three colours. The scheme takes one colour and matches it with the two colours adjacent to its complementary colour. For example, blue, yellow-orange and red-orange. This scheme is ideal for beginners because it is difficult to get wrong.

Analogous colours are any three colours next to each other on the wheel. For example, orange, yellow-orange, and yellow. With analogous colours, it’s best to avoid hues as they can be jarring. Instead, focus on tints of analogous colours. Another tip Colour Wheel Pro shares is to avoid combining warm and cool colours in this scheme.

Triadic colours are any three colours that are equally apart on the colour wheel. For example, red, yellow and blue. The Triadic scheme is also high-contrast, but more balanced than complementary colour.

Tetradic or double complementary colours uses four colours together, in the form of two sets of complementary colours. For example, blue and orange is paired with yellow and violet.

Some Info from www.lifehacker.com

So now you understand the concept behind colours, but how do you apply these to your rooms?

Try to aim for a max of three colours in the room. I tend to go for two. One is a statement wall and the other walls are a calmer more neutral colour.

Pick your dark wall first and then match the darker paint with a more subtle colour.

Dulux have this amazing Paint Colour Visualzer. You take a picture of your room, upload it, pick your colour, click on the wall you want painting and it show you what it will look like! Its fab. I could literally sit and play on this all night!

Download Colour Snap on your iPhone. You take a picture on your phone and it tells you the best colours to go with it from the colour wheel.

The next best place to look for inspiration is Pinterest. Search interior decor ideas or colours for my home and you will be undated with choices which you can use in your own home.

Get colour cards from B&Q and fabric swatches, place them at the side of each other in all areas of the room to see how it looks. Different parts of the room can make a colour appear completely different to the other side.

If you still struggle with colour and want to get away from the safe old white or beige then you are best to hire in the professionals and have it done properly first time. This saves you money in the long run and also the stress and time spent trying to find the perfect colour that suits your room and lifestyle.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me and I will be more than happy to help.

Natalie xx

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